Chapter 8
"You made it back to our hotel room and didn't sleep with him? There's a reason I spent the night in Ricky's suite," Nicole scolded me the next morning. I was retelling the details of my dinner with Nate to her, Bessa, and Ricky as we were getting ready for a day at the beach.
"Not even a little over the shirt action?" Ricky asked while plucking his brows in the bathroom mirror.
"That's what he meant when he said that it was going to be strictly dinner," I answered them both, sliding into a pair of white shorts.
Nicole watched as Bessa put on her third layer of lotion."Bessa, you don't need any more sunscreen. You've already used half the bottle."
Bessa frantically continued rubbing it onto her arms. "You guys don't understand. I burn easy! You think keeping my skin this perfect requires no work?"
"Save some for us who are almost translucent!" Ricky's yelled.
Nicole snatched the bottle from Bessa's hands. "You already have a hat, a cover up, and we've got one of those tent cabana things reserved at the beach. You're fine."
"Hand that over here," I motioned for the sunscreen from Nicole.
"Don't think we're done talking about your night," Nicole warned while handing the bottle to me. "Did you regain feelings for him again or what?"
"To be honest, no. I didn't. I thought I would but I didn't," I openly confessed, opening the sunscreen bottle. "It was a romantic night. I mean, we literally had a long walk on the beach. But there were no romantic feelings whatsoever."
"Huh," Nicole seemed skeptical.
"Really?" Bessa seemed shocked.
"That's a damn lie!" Ricky poked his head from the bathroom door.
The way I felt about Nate was a foreign feeling to me. On one hand, I couldn't deny our natural chemistry. Our conversations flowed, we were on a good level of understanding, and an underlying attraction towards one another was eminent. He would always have a special place in my heart. On the other hand, we both were well aware that we had matured into people who didn't exactly see eye to eye on everything. And like I thought before, we were both in different places simply adjusting to our situation.
Plus, this was the first time I'd seen the guy in three years. I was going to need more time to get used to the fact that he was about to enter in my life again.
But I know myself better than anyone else and my feelings could change at the drop of a hat. Who knew what the next three weeks would bring?
"People change, feelings change," I shrugged nonchalantly. "We're just...friends."
"Now that, is the Haley I know," Bessa smiled proudly at me. "Mature and honest."
"Yeah, yeah," Nicole waved her off. "So, when are you going to sleep with him? Is next Wednesday to soon? Because I've got a date with Riley and you'll have the room to yourself because obviously, I'm going to his place after since he's rooming with Donald who's going to get a facial at-"
"Hold on," I stood up from the bed. "Who do you have a date with?"
Nicole smiled. "Riley. Max's friend!"
"Who's Max?" Bessa stared at me in confusion.
"Who's Donald and where is he getting a facial at?" Ricky chirped.
"I met the Maxwell Hunter from the Times the other day after a seminar and we got drinks with him and his colleague's last night," I recapped Bessa on recent exciting events.
"Maxwell Hunter! No way! You've been obsessing over his writing for months!" Bessa squealed.
"I know! He's just as witty and sweet in person," I said, finding myself smiling at the thought of our hilarious conversations the other night. "Although I think I may have spilled too much information to him by the pool the other night."
"What do you mean?" Bessa asked.
I bit my lip. "I kinda told him details about the night I first met Nate. As in the details no one outside this room, and Nate, know about."
"Like the fact that you almost slept with him?" Ricky crowed.
"No! Not the entire story. I told him that I gave Nate the fake name Andrea, and we had a bit of a moment because Max has a cousin named Andrea, and-anyway," I paused, getting lost in my thoughts. "Maybe I shouldn't have told a complete stranger that."
"Might have not been the best idea, but I take partial blame for it since I was the one that got you a bit tipsy," Nicole added in. "However, you didn't tell him anything terribly bad that he could ever use against you. Besides, he seems like a nice guy."
"Yeah, but we don't know him that well. What if he turns out to be one of Nate's old college rivals that wants revenge?"
"You know we're, like, twenty-five, right?" Ricky cocked his head sideways. "We're not bitchy middle-schoolers, hon."
I rolled my eyes. "Excuse me for being cautious."
"You have every right to be, but what if you're wrong? You'll have worried over this for nothing," He said.
Well, I couldn't argue with that. One of my best traits was that I insistently tried to see the good in people.
I mean, look at what I've been through with Nate.
"I want to introduce everyone so we can all get to know him better," I announced. "Maybe once I hear what you guys make of him, I'll feel a bit better about my slip up. And by the way, don't ever offer me Corona again."
Nicole laughed. "Okay, deal."
"I don't think you should worry," Bessa said. "If you had told him that you almost slept with Nate, then I'd probably be freaked out. But, it's hardly a crime to give a guy at the club a fake name."
"You're right," I nodded at her. "Haley is just being Haley again and over worrying about the little things."
"No one's answered my question about a guy named Donald and a future facial yet," Ricky chirped.
"Donald is Max's co-worker," Nicole addressed him. "And before you ask, he has a boyfriend."
"Mhmm, we'll see about that," Ricky winked mischievously before disappearing back into the bathroom.
"He does? Wow, you got personal real quick that night," I said to Nicole. I wasn't surprised - she was outgoing but in a very endearing way that made you want to open up your life story. "Also, why on earth are you going on a date with Riley? That was so...unexpected...actually, yeah. I could've seen that coming," I finished with a laugh.
"Riley is hot, smart, and totally into me. Those are the only qualifications I really need," Nicole shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, if you're going to have fun on this trip, I sure as hell am."
"We can do a triple date! You and Riley, Haley and Nate, me and Tony," Bessa clapped her hands excitedly.
"That won't be awkward at all," I replied, sarcasm dripping down my words. "Nate's too busy to hang out with any of us any way."
"Haley, Nate will always make time for you," Ricky said. "Don't even deny that."
"Blah, blah, blah," I rolled my eyes at him, resisting the urge to agree with him.
On our way down, Bessa kept planning this triple date she was convinced would happen but in the back of my mind, I knew it wouldn't. Not because it would be awkward or anything, but simply because I didn't want it to. I was ready to accept the new friendship Nate and I had, why was everyone else continually trying to push us together? We'd be a great couple, I'm sure, but only if we had met at a different place at a different time in our lives.
The way I saw it, it was either it happened three years ago or not at all. It was too late for us now. Enough time had passed for both of us to move on with our lives.
When we reached the white sand, we saw Tony and Kevin getting towels at the service bar in front of the cabana's.
"Hey guys," I greeted them.
"Hey, we're getting towels. Is it just going to be the six of us?" Tony turned to us.
I immediately thought of Max and his friends, but since I hadn't seen him since two nights ago, nor had any way of communicating with him, I refrained from speaking up.
"Yeah, us six babe," Bessa said, grabbing his hand and interlacing their fingers.
Once we got the towels, we were hitting the sandy beach and walking over to one of the cabana's that had a fancy rope around it with a sign that said 'Reserved'.
"Does anyone else feel like we just won the lottery, or what?" Tony playfully laughed, moving the sign and the rope aside so we could enter in.
"You keep wishing," Kevin said.
We each settled onto the comfortable outdoor couches. On the wooden table in the middle was a tray of various alcohol bottles, shot glasses, and plates full of fruit displayed in professional manner.
"Your boy toy knows how to put a cabana together," Ricky said to me while popping a strawberry in his mouth.
Tony raised a suspicious brow at me."Who's your boy toy?"
"Nate."
Nicole, Tony, and Bessa all responded at once.
"Here we go," I muttered under my breath.
"Haley went to dinner with Nate last night," Nicole announced as she laid back into a mess of pillows.
Tony and Kevin both whipped their heads at me.
Tony grinned. "Well, don't you move fast."
"How was that?" Kevin threw me an amused smile. He had gotten comfortable at poking fun whenever the idea of me and Nate dating was brought up. Even though he knew how emotional I used to get when I spoke about Nate, now he mainly just laughed at it because it was a bit ridiculous that an intern had a fling with the owner of the magazine.
At least now I was able to find some humor in it.
"It was fine," I glowered at him. "It wasn't a big deal. We had a nice dinner and caught up on each other's lives."
"Then they had a long walk on the beach with some ice cream," Nicole added while wagging her brows in a suggestive manner.
"Okay, relax Nora Roberts, it wasn't as romantic as you're making it sound," I lied. I lied hard. It was exactly as romantic as it sounds.
"I didn't know you were a 'long walk on the beach' kinda girl, Hale," Tony said. "Are you a long walk on the beach kinda girl?" He turned to Bessa.
"Do you even know me at all?" She giggled.
"Haley likes long walks, but she likes ice cream more," Kevin answered confidently.
"I think the most romantic part about the night was when he bought me a double scoop," I nodded in agreement with Kevin.
"Are we going to completely ignore the fact that she didn't sleep with him? At all?" Nicole burst.
Kevin gave me a funny look. "Even after he bought you the double scoop?"
I couldn't help but laugh - I knew he was playing along with it. "I hate you."
"Were you planning on sleeping with him?" Tony seemed confused. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with him anymore."
"Okay, these guys are way too far behind on what's actually happening," Ricky rolled his eyes, completely fed up. "You girls catch them up, I'm going to take a shot."
"Pour me one too," I told Ricky, pulling my knees in closer and relaxing in the couch. "If they're getting into it, I need a drink."
"Say no more," Ricky nodded, pouring both of us a shot of - gag - vodka.
While Nicole and Bessa went into exact detail about my night with Nate, beginning to end, even adding in the details about how little I felt about it, I turned to Ricky after we had finished taking out shots and decided to strike up a conversation that, for once, had nothing to do with my love life.
"So, are you gunning to for that editorial position next month?" I asked, noting that one of the editors in the culture and arts department would be leaving indefinitely after the birth of her second child.
"I'm going for it, but I've got a lot of competition, including that bitch Kelly."
A laugh escaped my lips. "Her pieces are nothing compared to yours. You've been there longer and your pieces get featured on the homepage. Kelly's lucky if she even makes it onto the website at all."
Ricky's pieces reminded me a lot of my dad's. They were controversial, talking about topics within the arts that many people wouldn't dare publish. But if the New Yorker was anything, it was ready to publish any scandalous piece of writing we had to offer. Ricky, growing up in Manhattan, had seen the effect on the arts. He was in theater all his life, his mother was a painter whose works were hanging in offices of the mayor, and his father was a curator for the Met. His life was an art in itself. He lived and breathed it.
"You speak the truth, my dear. If the decision were up to us, I'd be in that spot for sure. But who knows what Walter is thinking," He sighed.
Walter Dennis was the editor-in-chief of the New Yorker. He was a tall bald man with round glasses, reminiscent of a younger Stanley Tucci. He always wore a black turtleneck with gray trousers, even in the dead heat of summer. With his nose stuck in the air, he would flip through the mock up of every issue before printing and always had one great thing and one terrible thing to say about each article featured.
Basically, he was one of those EIC's that liked to put you on a pedestal before ripping it from right under you and leaving you with the broken bones and bruises. He was a harsh critic, but without his honesty, the New Yorker wouldn't be as respected in its transparency to speak the truth as any other magazine.
"I'm sure he's thinking that you're at the top of the list for most qualified candidates. He has to be, I know we all are," I convinced him.
"Thanks for the support, love. If I get the job I'll make sure to treat you out to some rocky road ice cream," He winked, laying a hand on my leg.
"Good enough for me!"
"Hey, Haley. Speaking of Nate," Nicole reached over from her conversation with Tony, Bessa, and Kevin to shake my arm and capture my attention. She gestured over to the front of the cabana where I found Nate walking up the sandy hill to us wearing a pair of trunk shorts and nothing else.
Literally, nothing else.
"Um, Haley if you aren't thinking about sleeping with him tonight, I'll happily step in," Ricky lowered his sunglasses down and eyed Nate.
"Stop staring," Tony covered Bessa's wide eyes with his hand. She slapped it away but he kept it in its place.
"Well, well, well, Natey boy leaves nothing for the imagination," Nicole licked her lips.
"You guys, shut up! He's coming this way!" I said, shifting my position so that I looked less like a bloated walrus and more like a poised human being.
"Hey, guys! It's good to see you all together!" Nate smiled brightly at us, stopping just before our cabana opening.
"Hi," I replied calmly.
"Hey Nate!" Kevin politely waved, as did Bessa and Tony.
"It is so great to finally meet you, Nate Chester," Nicole stood up and slowly walked up to him, making a show of it in front of us and leaning in to give him a light peck on the cheek.
I turned to Ricky with a laugh when he who also rolled his eyes at her.
"Hi, you must be Nicole. Haley's told me a lot about you," Nate couldn't hold back his laughter.
I may or may not have mentioned that Nicole was the horniest girl I knew.
"Oh, I'm sure I can show you more about me than what she's told you," She caressed a hand on his arm, proving my statement correctly.
I gave Nate a look that said, 'I told you so'.
Though he laughed at her, he widened his eyes and stared at me with a look saying 'Okay, I get it'.
"Are you guys enjoying the cabana so far? Is everything okay in here?" Nate eyed the table, probably making sure we had enough food and alcohol.
"Everything is fantastic, Nate. You're doing a great job!" Bessa perked up in her seat.
"Yeah, this whole retreat has been fun so far," Tony piped in. "Hey, do you know if there's a sports bar anywhere around? I kinda wanna catch up on the playoffs."
"You read my mind, Tony. I'm actually headed to one in town tonight to catch the Celtics and Knicks game. You guys want to join?" Nate offered, looking at Ricky, Kevin, and Tony.
"Absolutely not," Ricky shook his head. "The only sport I watch is the Kardashians doing work."
I snorted at this.
"Okay," Nate laughed at him. "You guys up for it?"
"Hell yeah," Kevin nodded. Tony also remarked his support for the idea.
"Great, meet me down at the lobby around seven. I'll have one of the town cars drive us," Nate replied.
"Uh, what about us?" Nicole gestured to me and Bessa.
"Sorry, boys night only ladies," Tony spoke up.
Nate shrugged, giving me an apologetic look. "Tony's right."
Nicole turned back to me with an expression that showed her desire to join the guys.
I simply gave a slight shrug of my shoulder and said, "I think you guys need a night out without us."
"Yeah, we'll have our own fun," Bessa encouraged Nicole.
"Alright, it's settled then," Nate clapped his hands. "Guys, I'll see you later. Ladies and Ricky, let me know if you need anything!"
"Oh, can you ask one of the servers for two slices of fresh cucumbers? I need to soothe my eyes," Ricky patted the area around his eyes.
"I'll see what we can do," Nate winked. "Have a great day, guys."
We all waved goodbye to him and a part of me felt happy that he was gone so that I could resume back to my comfortable position and relax. I felt tensed whenever Nate and my friends were around. I think part of it is because while we were interns, I was constantly on the edge because I didn't want our secret to slip out, that now even years later, I still felt the need to be aware of what I said or did around him.
"Well, that didn't seem like you were thirsty at all, Nicole," Ricky threw a pillow at her once Nate had left. "Is there any way I can staple your vagina shut?"
Kevin and Tony laughed at this.
"Shut up, Ricky. You act like you weren't drooling the whole time he was here," She threw the pillow harder at him. His head snapped back and it nearly knocked the sunglasses off his face.
"He wasn't the only one drooling," Tony pointed his thumb at Bessa.
She turned to him with an innocent smile. "Sorry, babe. I don't have the privilege of seeing a man with a well-defined body everyday."
I nearly at tears from laughing at her. Even Kevin was struggling to breathe after Bessa's statement.
Tony grew a few shades of red through his trimmed beard. "Okay, the insults come way too easy for you."
"I can't believe Nate invited you idiots to watch a basketball with him and didn't even offer us to join," Nicole slumped back into the couch and folded her arms across her chest child-like.
"You don't even like basketball," Kevin gave her a smug look.
"No, but I do like the hot single guys that watch it," She said as if this were common knowledge.
Well, actually, it was.
"It's okay, Nikki. Let the guys enjoy themselves for an evening. We'd just end up drinking by ourselves at some gross sports bar anyway. We might as well do that by the pool," I told her.
"You're surprisingly calm after that interaction," She eyed me suspiciously.
I shrugged, feeling exactly that. Calm. "There's nothing to lose my shit over."
Bessa's eyebrows raised. "Huh."
"Since when?" Nicole scrunched her brows.
"Since I grew up and matured," I replied smartly.
Ricky whistled. "Tell 'em sistah."
"So does that mean he's up for grabs?" Nicole wagged her eyebrows at me.
"Up for grabs? What is he, a bag of chips?" I laughed at her.
Nicole audibly scoffed, dramatically crossing her arms. "Well, if you're not going to make the most of having a shirtless Nate Chester walking around like living Calvin Klein model, someone has to."
"And it ain't gonna be you," Ricky snorted, resting his head back against the pillows.
"Are you all actually fighting over Nate right now?" Tony stared at us in bewilderment. "Isn't that super awkward?"
"I'm not fighting over any guy," I took myself out of the situation.
"You, out of all of us, have the biggest chance to get hot and heavy with Chester junior," Ricky stated matter-of-factly.
"Do you think she should sleep with Nate?" Nicole turned to Kevin.
Kevin didn't seem bothered by the question. "Uh...if she wants too, then absolutely. If she doesn't, why does it matter?"
Sometimes, I feel as if Kevin is the only friend I need.
"Thank you," I said to him, smiling warmly. "Exactly what he said."
"But do you want to, Haley?" Nicole asked.
Then I narrowed my eyes at her, suddenly figuring it all out. "Are you hoping the answer is no so that you'll have a chance at him?
Nicole looked around the cabana before staring directly at me saying, "Uh, duh."
I knew she was kidding, her clear intent was to get an answer out of me. "No, I don't think I want to. At least, not right now in the moment. Get a few drinks in me and who knows?"
Nicole and Ricky couldn't hand the bottle of vodka to me fast enough.
"Say no more," Ricky said.
"Drink up," Nicole advised. "We've got a long three weeks left."